A great comment regarding Solstice from Dan, President of Celebrity

[RCCLCARIB]

This was found in the Azamara Q&A form on the main Cruise Critic Page. But this was a statement that I think slightly explians how great Celebrity Solstice and her sister ships are going to be.

 

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Cruise Critic : And speaking of Celebrity ... what are your short and long range plans for Celebrity Cruises? (asked by Snow Road Cruisers)

Dan: We really love Celebrity, please don't take anything away from Celebrity. We continue to work on making Celebrity even better than it is today, and we are working hard to make sure that Celebrity doesn't go anywhere but up. When we bring Solstice out, you'll be amazed at the quality of the design, how spectacular it will be. I think that as Voyager of the Seas changed the cruise industry and changed Royal Caribbean, Solstice will do something similar for Celebrity.

 

A lot of jaws will drop.

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What do you all think about this comment?

[Lois R]

A great comment? I think he is saying it is going to be

The "Voyager" of Celebrity....too big for my taste.

But I know there are lots and lots of folks who will sail her.

 

Lets hope they leave some C and M class ships for those

of us who don't want a "Floating City".

[florisdekort]

Well, at least they are all consistent in creating a hype. Derek Habraken, Cruise Director on Millennium, went even so far to say that the Solstice class will "revolutionize the cruise industry" and that it will be "unlike anything you've seen before".

 

Celebrity should be careful that they don't create such a hype that in the end, everybody will be disappointed, despite the ship being great.

 

Lois, It is not the size of the ship that matters to me, but the size/passenger ratio, and the crew/passenger ratio...

 

Best Regards,

Floris

[leoandhugh]

"great" comment???? obviously the interpretation of RCCARIB, but I think it is nothing more than the hype I would expect from the president of any company with a future product no one has seen yet. It is a PR man's dream. If you cant separate the wheat from the chaff or the hype from reality, then you are the one the PR people are writing for. "Great"???? Sorry, I will reserve judgment. Bigger with more bells and whistles does not == better. Witness his statement about Voyager class revolutionizing the cruise industry. Yeah, sure.:( :(

[Germancruiser]

Hi

Floris I agree- for me it´s also the Space Ratio- and very important, I wanna be connected to the sea, means I will " feel" that I am on a ship and not in a land based resort. I sailed the Voyaer of the Seas and did not like it much, because there was to less connection to the sea for my taste. The Vision and Radiance Class ships a great with light and seaviews. They just should be under the X- Flag. LOL!

Never- never ever go from a X ship ( speaking of Millenium or her sisters) to a Costa ship of the same size. They put some 800 passengers more on their ships of the same size. AND ONE FEELS, HEARS it.

I am sure we will like the Solstice Class of ships. I can´t even wait to read more about her, I check out the Meyer webcam weekly... !

Greetings

Michael

[joeinsb]

I'm sure that Solstice will be a fine ship and up to, or perhaps beyond, Celebrity standards of service, quality, etc. But as one poster said, it's all about density. Although RCI's Radiance of the Seas was one of the nicest ships we've sailed on, I doubt if we'll ever go through that big-ship experience again. So, money no object, our favorites to date are Regent Seven Seas Mariner and Oceania Nautica., beautiful, small ships offering memorable cruising experiences.

[greeneg]

Bottom Line for me: While I think that all of the Cruise Critics ( well, almost all,) are great, I have no desire to be on the same ship with everyone at the same time. Nor do I want to share the same port with three thousand plus of you.

 

The Solstice Class ships have no appeal for me at all.

 

None.

 

And certainly not at the rates that today's pricing trends appear to be trending towards.....

 

Unless the Azamara cruise works out better than I think that it will right now ( I'm on the cusps of cancelling it and looking elsewhere), then I guess I will be in the market for a new line.......

[denb]

Hi

Floris I agree- for me it´s also the Space Ratio-

I also agree. With Century at 40.35 and Constellation at 44.27, the Solstice class falls in between at 42.8. I had hoped for a larger number for the new class if Century was really going to be 'better than it is today'.

 

Because they don't have Solstice 2008 itineraries available yet, I ended up booking on Carnival's new Splendor, which is also being built. A lower space ration, but they have Spa suites and a Tholasotherapy pool in their very large spa (making the spa space ratio very high). Another thing (the spa T-Pools) that Celebrity is getting rid of on their C class ships. Hopefully they'll bring it back on Solstice.

[Jimsgirl]

As the fiasco with the "new smaller ships" prove, when it comes to actually delivering the goods, the philosophy to take with Celebrity is "-

 

"There is many a slip between the cup and the lips"

[hcat]

He also made some very big predictions about Cirque d soleil which did nothing but ruin two very nice nightclubs/ daytime viewing areas for an extended time period on two otherwise lovely ships.

His concept of what is great may not be ours--guess we'll have to wait & see. Why don't they just replicate Mercury for a another great cruise ship...It is perfect in every way!

I expect we'd try it once, but larger ships hold no interest for me--they are ruining cruising --esp for those who enjoy visits to the ports.....as opposed to seeing an ice show at sea...

[caviargal]

I think that as Voyager of the Seas changed the cruise industry and changed Royal Caribbean, Solstice will do something similar for Celebrity.

 

A lot of jaws will drop.

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What do you all think about this comment?

 

I think this is (1) not unexpected, and (2) a real shame. There goes the Celebrity most of us have come to appreciate.

 

Voyager class totally changed the RCI experience and it has been my opinion for some time that Solstice will do the same for X. The writing is on the wall.

 

The ambiance on all RCI ships has changed due to Voyager and then Freedom class ships and the same will very likely happen to Celebrity.

 

Hanrahan and RCI is thrilled because they are profitable and the ships have the WOW factor that keep them full.

 

Those who enjoy a traditional and formal cruise experience will soon have nowhere to go.:(

[greeneg]

I think this is (1) not unexpected, and (2) a real shame. There goes the Celebrity most of us have come to appreciate.

 

Voyager class totally changed the RCI experience and it has been my opinion for some time that Solstice will do the same for X. The writing is on the wall.

 

The ambiance on all RCI ships has changed due to Voyager and then Freedom class ships and the same will very likely happen to Celebrity.

 

Hanrahan and RCI is thrilled because they are profitable and the ships have the WOW factor that keep them full.

 

Those who enjoy a traditional and formal cruise experience will soon have nowhere to go.

 

I really wish that I didn't think that you were probably right. Nice post.